Recovery of people with psychiatric disabilities living in the community and associated factors

Abstract

Objective: Consumer-oriented recovery has been discussed for more than two decades in the mental health field. Although there some qualitative recovery studies have shown important findings, few quantitative studies of this concept currently exist. This study examined the relationship between recovery and associated social-environmental and individual factors.

Method: A total of 159 people with psychiatric disabilities receiving services from a large community mental health agency participated in the study. Participants completed a self-report survey that assessed individual recovery status, social support, perceived recovery-oriented service quality, psychiatric symptoms, and demographics. One hundred twenty-four surveys were analyzed. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis was conducted to examine the relationship between recovery and associated factors.

Results: Social support and perceived recovery-oriented service quality had significant positive relationships with recovery; psychiatric symptoms had a significant negative relationship with recovery. The final regression model accounted for 58% of the variance in recovery, F(9, 114) = 17.72, p < .001.

Conclusion and implications for practice: Social-environmental factors play an important role in people's recovery, even after taking into account psychiatric symptoms. Namely, people with psychiatric disabilities can pursue recovery with symptoms as long as they receive appropriate support and services. Mental health professionals should provide services adhering to recovery principles in order to help their clients achieve personal recovery.